For those who have not been following along on all Universal rumors, King Kong was going to be returning to the Universal Orlando Resort in some way, shape or form in 2016. This is arguably one of the worst kept secrets in Universal Orlando history. Yes, even worse than Diagon Alley going to Universal Studios.

Today, as a part of the 25th Anniversary Celebration of Universal Studios coming to Orlando, the Creative team finally announced a name and some features to the King Kong attraction located at Islands of Adventure. If you have been to IOA recently, you have seen that Kongstruction has been taking place between Toon Lagoon and the Jurassic Park areas of the park.

The ride will be called “Skull Island: Reign of Kong” as similar to the name of the movie reboot coming to theaters in 2017 starring Tom Hiddleston and Michael Keaton. According to Universal, this attraction “will be an intense, all-new adventure brought to life in a themed environment. Guest will be taken deep into a wild, mysterious world where their journey will take them through an ancient temple inhabited hostile natives, a jungle full of prehistoric creatures, and face to face with Ole’ Banana Breath himself. No word if the banana breath from the former Kong ride will be featured.

“King Kong is a Hollywood movie legend and a huge part of both our history and our future,” said Mike West of Universal Creative. “[Kong] gives us the opportunity to tap into everything that makes our film history so special and everything that makes our theme park attractions so spectacular.”

Based off an interview with Orlando Business Journal’s Richard Bilbao, Mike West did not give a straight answer on if the ride will feature an animatronic Kong or 3-D screens, which most Universal parkgoers are used to with rides such as Spider-Man and Transformers. However, the ride will not feature the same cars as the two rides mentioned. Reign of Kong will use “expedition trucks” through the ride. It will also be “one of the longest, if not the longest we have done” at Universal Orlando.

We will post more updates on Reign of Kong, as well as all information for the 25th anniversary of Universal Studios once it becomes more available.

About author

Dan Suárez

UCF grad that is way too much into the theme park life here in Orlando (Disney World and Universal mostly). I also work full-time as a Human Resources Coordinator and I am a huge sports fan when not frequenting the World.